6.  The application was initially introduced by Mahmut Nalbant who was born in 1936 and was living in Kırklareli. Following his death on 28 March 2005, his wife and his children (hereinafter “the applicants”) expressed their intention to pursue the application on 15 August 2005. The applicants were born in 1943, 1961, 1963 and 1973 respectively. Selime Nalbant, and Mehmet Nalbant live in Kırklareli and Münevver Bozdemir and Havva Nalbant Tekin live in Tekirdağ.
7.  In 1927 Mahmut Nalbant’s father arrived as an immigrant from Bulgaria. The applicants allege that in 1934 Mahmut Nalbant’s father was given, together with other people, plot no. 4086 for settlement (iskan). However, the plot of land was not registered in their names in the Land Registry.
8.  On 13 September 1961 the Land Registry Commission (Tapulama Komisyonu) attached to the General Directorate of Land Registration (Tapu ve Kadastro Genel Müdürlüğü) conducted a land registry survey (tapulama tespiti) and considered that the plot of land (“plot no. 4086”) in the Evrensekiz village should be registered in the name of the Treasury.
9.  On an unspecified date twenty-eight complainants objected to the results of the survey. It is to be noted that Mahmut Nalbant does not figure in the list of complainants. The applicants claimed that he was not notified of this decision.
10.  On 20 November 1970 the Land Registry Commission declared that it lacked competence rationae materie and transferred the case to the Cadastre Court. The latter sent the case-file to the Land Registry Commission and on 3 September 1971 the Land Registry Commission dismissed the objections of the complainants.
11.  In 1972 twenty-six persons including Mahmut Nalbant (hereinafter “the plaintiffs”) filed an action with the Lüleburgaz Cadastre Court and requested the latter to set aside the decision of the Land Registry Commission. The date of petition submitted by Mahmut Nalbant is 8 August 1972.
12.  On 9 November 1978 the proceedings before the Lüleburgaz Cadastre Court commenced.
13.  On 3 February 1981 the court requested the Kırklareli Land and Settlement Directorate to investigate whether any plots of land were given as settlement in the Evrensekiz village and if so, whether the names of the plaintiffs figured in the registries.
14.  On 20 May 1981 the Kırklareli Land and Settlement Directorate informed the court that only three families figured in the settlement records as having been given a settlement in the Evrensekiz village.
15.  On 10 July 1981, 14 October 1981 and 23 November 1981 the Kırklareli Land and Settlement Directorate informed the court that the names of the plaintiffs did not figure in any of the registers relating to settlement.
16.  On 31 May 1983 the court conducted an onsite inspection. According to the experts’ report of 6 June 1983, the impugned land together with plot no. 3584, 3585 and 3587, was divided into twenty-nine parts, on which the plaintiffs were farming. Mahmut Nalbant was using 16000 square metres of this land.
17.  On 7 May 1993 the court conducted an onsite inspection. On 14 May 1993 an expert report was submitted to the court.
18.  On 22 September 1993 the court requested the Land Directorate to send a sketch of the land together with its surroundings.
19.  On 22 December 1993 the court requested the Land Directorate to submit the files concerning the plot of land together with fourteen neighbouring plots of land. On 28 February 1994 the Land Directorate submitted the requested files.
20.  On 23 May 1996 the court conducted an onsite inspection. According to the expert report drafted on 29 May 1996 it was impossible to determine whether the land was previously a meadow since it was being used as farmland.
21.  On 24 May 1996 Lüleburgaz Land Registry Directorate submitted additional documents concerning title-deeds and registry records.
22.  On 29 June 2001 the court conducted an onsite inspection. According to the report prepared by an expert who took into account witness statements and expert testimony, the plot of land was previously a meadow but that the plaintiffs were using the land as farmland.
23.  On 18 July 2001 Mahmut Nalbant submitted his comments on the results of the onsite inspection and his observations on the merits.
24.  Between 8 April 1987 and 18 July 2001 the court held numerous hearings. During this time, the court adjourned the onsite inspection twenty‑three times, either due to adverse weather conditions (6 times) or the plaintiffs’ failure to attend the onsite inspection (14 times). On at least three occasions the onsite inspection could not take place because another onsite inspection was being conducted. In the course of the proceedings, several hearings were adjourned pending the intervention of the heirs of some of the plaintiffs to the proceedings. During this time, Mahmut Nalbant and his lawyer did not participate in the hearings held on 16 September and 25 November 1987 and on 9 September 1996.
25.  On 18 July 2001 the Lüleburgaz Cadastre Court dismissed the case and held that the plot of land should be registered in the name of the Treasury. It considered that the land in question was public property because it was meadowland and that therefore, the plaintiffs could not acquire ownership of it by de facto possession. It further noted that no official document was found supporting the plaintiffs’ arguments that they were given the plot of land for settlement.
26.  On 2 September 2001 Mahmut Nalbant appealed against the decision of the first-instance court. In his petition, Mahmut Nalbant submitted that the length of the proceedings had breached Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
27.  On 20 October 2003 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the first-instance court. It further dismissed Mahmut Nalbant’s request for a rectification of its judgment on 29 April 2004.